A hearing in Lewisville, TX, to decide whether or not there
should be a half-cent sales tax increase to fund a sports arena
drew a "standing-room only" crowd Tuesday night.  The vote, which
will take place on January 21, calls for a raise in sales tax from
7.25% to 7.75% to fund a $40M bond issue for a sports arena.  The
arena will be built only if the city of Dallas fails to negotiate
a deal to keep the Mavericks (Kim North, DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
1/11).   On Wednesday, "several members" of the Dallas City
Council said "they were angry with the Stars for helping fund" the
Lewisville campaign.  A memo was sent to City Attorney Sam Lindsay
asking what legal action could be taken against the Stars if they
"opt not to play at Reunion Arena."  Stars President Jim Lites:
"We're just trying to protect our own interests"  (Sylvia
Martinez, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/12).

     The King County Stadium Alternatives Task Force met Wednesday
in Seattle and "endorsed a new home for the Mariners."  The plan
calls for "35% to 45% financing by private money and the rest from
a combination of user taxes" -- such as admission fees, car-rental
taxes, and a tax on alcohol and tobacco.  But before the vote
could be cast, Ron Sims, Vice Chair of the County Council's Fiscal
Management Committee, said that any increase in tax "should be
approved at the polls."  Other county officials agreed saying that
although people want the Mariners to stay, it's going to take a
lot of public support.  Within the next week King County Exec Gary
Locke will put together a "meeting of political leaders" from the
County Council, Seattle City Council, state Legislature and
Governor's office.  Locke "acknowledged a major selling job will
be required to convince legislators the state should support the
stadium plan."  The Mariners have said that "unless ground is
broken for a new stadium by 1996, they will not sign a new lease
to keep the team in Seattle."  The team's current lease at the
Kingdome expires in '96 (Bill Knight, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER,
1/12).

     The Nuggets announced an agreement with the city of Denver
yesterday to build a "privately financed $132 million state-of-
the-art downtown arena."  Construction is scheduled to begin in
May so that the arena will be finished in time for the start of
the '97-'98 NBA season.  It will be located about five minutes
from the Nuggets current home, McNichols Arena.  As part of the
plan, COMSAT Corp., owner of the Nuggets, will build a $20M TV and
film production studio next to the arena in partnership with
Denver-based TCI.  The deal is pending approval from Denver City
Council and COMSAT's board of directors (Thomas Heath, WASHINGTON
POST, 1/13).

     A report due to be released today commissioned by the Anne
Arundel Economic Development Corp on the proposed Redskins stadium
in Laurel, MD, concludes that the stadium "would generate $8.4
million a year in state and Anne Arundel County taxes -- enough to
pay for required roads, sewer and water lines with enough left
over to build a new elementary school every year or hire more than
80 additional police officers" (John Morris, Baltimore SUN, 1/13).